Once in a Lifetime
by PKOLFoster
Summary: Just another reincarnationish fic. Satine and Christian get another chance, but will their "past" keep them apart? You'll have to read to find out. ;) Yeah, this is a little like the movie starting out..hoping it isn't too MUCH like it..it'll get diffe


Title: Once in a Lifetime  
Rating: PG-13 just in case  
Summery: Just another reincarnationish fic. Satine and Christian get another chance, but will their "past" keep them apart? You'll have to read to find out. ;) Yeah, this is a little like the movie starting out..hoping it isn't too MUCH like it..it'll get different eventually .  
  
This is my FIRST (numero uno) Moulin Rouge fic. Don't get me wrong, I've written before..er...sorta..mostly forced, heh heh. Anyway, on with the show I guess right?  
  
_______________________  
  
p"-a love that will last forever. The end," Katie O'Connel sighed as she reread the last line to her favorite book again before finally closing it, her hand fondly grazing over the cover. The leather was well worn, the title and author long faded, and all that remained to identify the novel was the indent of a once vividly painted red windmill; a far cry from it's formal glory the girl imagined. Not that Katie ever judged a book by it's cover, the story inside was what was important. Courtesans, poets, bohemians, evil dukes; they all seemed to evoke the memories of a long lost era, bringing to life the world of long ago. And of course, there was her ridicules obsession with love that she shared with every other teenage girl on the planet.  
p"Catherine!", the girl groaned inwardly as she heard her mother call from downstairs. She hated being interrupted from her daydreaming like this, but she knew better than to question her parents. Tossing the book on her night stand, Katie quickly stood up and hurried down to the family room to see what the commotion was all about.  
  
pMaria O'Connel hurried back out of the kitchen towards the main room of the house, a tray full of refreshments in her hands. It wasn't often she felt so excited about visitors, but this was different. These were not her husbands clients or any members of her bridge club, her son had finally come home to visit! She smiled and took a glance in the hall mirror before entering. Her normally perfectly groomed hair was a little out of place, and she hardly had on her Sunday best, but that didn't matter. Maria was smiling, for the first time since her favorite little boy left for college she was actually smiling.   
p"Mum, need any help?", Christian glanced out into the hall from his spot on the couch. Beside him, his friend Terry sat smirking and taking in the surroundings. The young American artist found everything about the small manor fascinating, from the old family portraits to the velvet furniture. In fact, he could easily get use to this kind of life style, and he had no idea why his friend Christian seemed so appalled by it. No, wait, appalled wasn't the word: "unfulfilled".   
p"Tell me again why your mother's serving by herself. I thought you people had maids or something", Christian eyed his friend tiredly then sighed. Americans. He knew the stereotype well enough after spending two years in the States and absorbing their culture. To them, anyone with any money or title in Britain was automatically assumed to be waited on hand and foot.   
p"I told you before, my mother prefers to keep the house herself except for the occasional cleaning lady and my father's too cheap to pay anyone for something 'we should be doing ourselves'-"  
p"Christian!", Maria eyed her son warily as she set the tray down on the table in front of the boys. "I thought I told you about speaking against your father."  
pChristian smiled. "I was hardly speaking against him mum. I actually agree with him on this subject," *For once,* he added to himself silently.   
p"Good. The last thing we need on your home coming is you and your father getting into another fight."  
p"Please, we hardly fight that much. We just..don't always agree."   
pTerry eyed his friend. He had only heard about Christian's father, terrible tales of a man who acted more like a tyrant and ruled over his house as such, and from the portraits he'd seen on his way in, he was starting to believe him. It was hard to believe that such a spirited freewill could possibly be the offspring of a man Christian described. *He might not be...*, Terry smirked giving Maria another look but his thoughts were quickly disrupted as a young brunette stepped into the room.  
pKatie looked around the old family room, her eyes traveling from her mother to the young man sitting on the couch across from her. In an instant, she had shot across the room, tackling Christian in a bear hug. Her mother simply watched in mock disdainfulness, eyeing her daughter disapprovingly while shaking her head.   
p"Whoa, I'm glad to see you two sis," Christian smiled as his sister finally sat on the couch in-between her brother and his friend, taking notice of the other man for the first time.  
pKatie made a brief face, looking Terry up and down before looking back at Christian. "Who's this guy? Don't tell me you're brought home another bus-station-bum."  
p"Hey!", Terry glared, but Christian only laughed.  
p"Worse, he's my roommate."  
p"They let THAT into Harvard law school??," Katie shook her head and her mother smiled a little apologetically towards her son's friend, hoping he'd get the message her daughter was always like this.  
pChristian just watched the scene little nervously. He knew this moment would come, it was why he came home in the first place. This was something he had to tell his parents personally, or so he thought at the time. Now it didn't seem like such a good idea.  
p"Well...not exactly," Christian started slowly. His mother and Katie watched, now silent, both understanding he was about to tell them something important. Christian swallowed inwardly, making sure to take a short breath before he continued. "I dropped out"  
pBoth Maria and Katie stared a long moment before speaking in unison. "What??!"  
p"I dropped out. Look, before you yell at me, please understand I have my reasons. You both know I never wished to go to Harvard in the first place. Mum, please don't look at me like that. I'm..I'm going to follow my dream!"  
pHis mother shook her head in continuing disbelief at what her son said. "Christian...how could you do this? After all your father did-"  
p"Don't bring him up right now. Harvard, law school, it was always his dream, not mine! Neither of you listened to me before, but now I'm taking my stand. I'm a grown man Mother, I can make my own decisions!"  
p"Christian...," Maria was tiring of this argument. Her son was always so strong-willed. But he was never so foolish, couldn't he see what he was doing? "Christian, if your father knew-"  
p"If I knew what??", the booming accent almost shook the room, everyone else growing silent. Joshua O'Connel stepped into the room, cold, hard eyes already fixed on his rebellious son. There was no way Christian or Maria could sidestep this conversation, but Maria had at least hoped to soften the blow.   
p"I'm going to Paris!", Christian had spoke the words before he even realized what he was saying. Joshua's cold gaze grew even more intense when he heard his son's words.  
p"You're what?", the statement was calm, but everyone in the room felt a shiver at the words.  
p"I'm going to Paris to become a writer...I-I can't explain why, but I know I have to. My tuition..the money..it's all still in the bank, or what's left of it now," Christian was stuttering. He knew the confrontation with his father would not be easy, but he had at least hope he could hide his fears. He was very wrong.  
p"Going to Paris to waste your life! That's what you're doing! I can't believe you, you ignorrant-"  
p"Josua!!" Maria stood, cutting off her husband. She was never the forceful wife, but she would not stand by and let anyone put her son down, even her sometimes over reactive husband. "I'm sure Christian has his reasons...right Christian?" She looked back at her son hopefully. *Please, just no more talk about-*  
p"I'm following my dreams. I have to!"  
p"Dreams! Ha! You'll waste your life there, with you and your ridiculas obsessions! Your dreams cannot be found on the streets of Paris boy! More 'dreams' have been lost there than you can count!"  
p"That may be so Mr. O'Connel, but at least he'll be able to uphold what he believes in! Truth, beauty, freedom, lov-", Terry had spoken out of turn and everyone in the room looked at the American in shock. All except Joshua O'Connel, who only glared harder.  
p"A damned American! You and your notions! This is what you brought home from the States?? Maria, I told you we should have sent the boy to Cambridge!"  
p"Now Joshua, I hardly think-", but Christian had had enough. He was tired of watching his father tear down his dreams, his ideals, but now with his father attacking his friends he had found the courage to stand again.  
p"No! I'm passing away on to a better life!", Christian's voice grew stronger as he continued and stepped towards his father.  
"I'm about to see just how far I  
can fly, surely your not gonna  
break my fall  
I'm about to run as fast as I  
Can, maybe head long into a wall!," as he began towards the door, no one made any move in the room to stop him.   
"This time  
I'm passing away on to the  
Better life!", Christian took on last look at his family, then glared at his father.  
p"I'm going to prove you wrong once and for all!" With his last statement, Christian stormed from the room and out of the house, a bewildered Terry following close behind and not daring to look back. He was sure if he did he'd turn to stone under Joshua O'Connel's hard gaze.   
pJoshua glared, but didn't make a move to go after his son or even look after the boys as they walked out. Maria just watched in shock, and Katia finally stood, carefully looking at both parents before sitting back and muttering. "That went well....I suppose this means we won't be getting a Christmas card from him this year, huh?"  
  
____________________  
  
"The Better Life" (a slightly altered version btw) ~ 3 Doors Down  
  
Okay, that's the first chapter. Tell me what ya think. It's probably pretty bad, but I don't know what I'm doing so take that into consideration. Take also into consideration the adition of a song was kinda last minute..I figured what's Moulin Rouge without music right? Oh yeah, PLEASE REVIEW or I don't know if you're reading and I lose momentum. Gotta keep that momentum going ya know ;).   
  
Fosterito 


End file.
